Bollinger: 2017 Vins Clairs and new La Grande Année Rosé 2007 Magnum

In early March every year, Champagne Bollinger invite guests to their house in Aÿ to tour the vineyards and cellars and taste a selection of vins clairs from the previous vintage. We managed to find time with Chef de Cave Gilles Descôtes during this busy period to talk (and taste) all things 2017. Our visit concluded with a magnificent champagne lunch.

Gilles Descôtes introducing the 2017 vins clairs

Vins Clairs 2017

“The vintage started well,” Descôtes began. “We had dry weather in the winter and although we lost 10% of the vineyards to spring frosts, there was still potential for it to be a vintage harvest.” However, despite a positively uneventful June and July, the weather in August eventually determined the fate of 2017. “It was one of the worst Augusts,” Descôtes said. A rainy and cold climate prompted the spread of botrytis throughout their vineyards. “Usually we have a ‘Champagne Miracle’ – the sun comes out and its perfect for ripening. Instead we had warm and wet weather… which is worse in terms of botrytis,” he added.

By the time harvest began, much of the damage was done. Bollinger typically pick their vineyards in around 21 days. In 2017, they picked in 9 days. Particularly affected was their hometown, the Grand Cru rated village of Aÿ in the east of the Vallée de la Marne. Normally picked in 12 days, Aÿ was last year picked in just 4 days. “We had to stop picking everywhere else and bring all our pickers to Aÿ to try and save the best of it,” Descôtes told us.

Unfortunately the complications were evident in some of the vins clairs we tasted. The Pinot Noir from Aÿ, usually fruit forward, generous and rich, had just a touch of those characteristics and fell quite flat in the middle. Because of their reliance on Pinot Noir, Bollinger decided quite early on that 2017 would not be a vintage year and emptied the barrels quickly. “Most of our barrels are empty. This is one of the very rare years at Bollinger where there is more Chardonnay in barrels than Pinot Noir,” Descôtes said.

Verzenay | Grand Cru, Montagne de Reims | Vinified In: Oak VatsHas some richness of oranges and tangerine. Quite thin in the middle, not a very good year for Verzenay.

Pinot Meunier

Rilly-la-Montagne | Premier Cru, Montagne de Reims | Vinified In: Oak VatsLots of strawberry and peaches on the nose. The palate is all nectarine and quite ripe peaches, quite forward and showy.

However, it wasn’t all bad news. Bollinger have been experimenting with some of the older grape varieties rarely seen in Champagne, something Descôtes is clearly quite proud of as he couldn’t wait to show us the wines they produced in 2017. Although Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier are often considered the only three grape varieties in the region (they cover 99.9% of the vineyard surface), there are actually four other grape varieties permitted to be grown – Arbane, Petit Meslier, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris. Once quite common in Champagne, they are now all but extinct, with just a few hectares remaining today.

Of these other varieties, Bollinger are experimenting with Arbane, Petit Meslier and Pinot Gris – all white grape (‘blanc’) varieties. They planted vineyards as long ago as 2004, however the severe frosts in 2010 destroyed many of the vines and they had to be re-planted in 2011. Now, more than six years later, they are starting to see some promising results.

Descôtes noted that these other varieties are known for their particularly high acidity, which is an interesting component in light of the changes global warming is having on Champagne viticulture. Many believe the warming climate has produced a pattern of earlier ripening periods, higher levels of alcohol and lower levels of acidity. Arbane and Petit Meslier appear to be ripening slightly earlier, although Descôtes acknowledged it is difficult to be conclusive with such young vines. It will be very interesting to see what these vineyards produce in the future.

Arbane

Aÿ | Grand Cru, Vallée de la Marne | Vinified In: Oak BarrelsThis has great texture, acidity and freshness. The fruits are all nectarine, tangerine and grapefruit, quite a mouthful.

Verzenay | Grand Cru, Montagne de Reims | Vinified In: Oak BarrelsDelicate and floral, with hints of orange blossom and citrus fruits. Very good concentration and lift from acidity. Tasted from barrel

According to Descôtes, the last vintage as difficult for Bollinger as 2017 was 1893. What with the troublesome year and the Pinot Noir dominance of their non-vintage champagne, Bollinger had to use nearly 50% reserve wines in the Special Cuvée blend this year. Typically in years when vintage champagnes are not made, the non-vintage blend is strengthened as all the best wines can be utilised. This certainly seems to be the case with the Special Cuvée 2017 base vintage blend – rich and oaky as ever, it was tasting impressively fresh and elegant. One to watch when it hits the market in 3-4 years.

Bollinger Special Cuvée NV Assemblage | 2017 Base Year
60% PN, 25% CH, 15% PM | Base Year: 2017 | Reserve Wine: 50%Oak comes through at the start and then some of the apricots and ripe apples start to show sitting on a layer of spice and nuttiness. This is really quite lush at this pre-bubble stage.

With 50% reserve wines, the special cuvée blend is as declicious as ever

A marvellous champagne lunch at the Bollinger winery

New La Grande Année Rosé 2007, stunning from magnum

Reserve Wine

To conclude our base wine tasting, we sampled a range of reserve wines. Bollinger are famed for their extensive store of reserve magnums – one of the ‘five pillars of Bollinger‘. Given the higher percentage of reserve wine in the 2017 Special Cuvée blend, it was interesting to taste some of the reserves that contributed to it. A particular standout was the Verzenay 2006 aged in magnum, which had all the ripe fruit freshness to be expected from such a warm and generous vintage.

Verzenay 2006 | Pinot Noir | Grand Cru, Montagne de Reims | Vinified In: Oak BarrelsSmoky and toasty on the nose. Lots of fruit like oranges and ripeness and lushness. This was aged in magnum.

Champagne

A truly splendid morning at Bollinger ended with a grand lunch at the winery, paired with a fitting selection of grand champagnes. The occasion was a celebration of 2017 – although not the best for the vineyards, it marked the tenth vintage since newly promoted COO Jérôme Philippon joined the house and was the first vintage for new General Manager Charles-Armand de Belenet. Appropriately, the lunch also coincided with the launch of new Bollinger La Grande Année Rosé 2007, which we were fortunate enough to taste from magnum. This is the first time La Grande Année Rosé has been released in magnum and a jeroboam is also now available.